Around The Beatles
Encyclopedia
Around The Beatles was a 1964 television special, featuring The Beatles
, produced by Jack Good
for ITV
/Rediffusion London
. It was broadcast internationally, and aired live from IBC Studios
in London 19 April 1964. The show featured other performers as well, with The Beatles providing backing vocals for some of them.
, with Ringo
unfurling a flag with the legend "Around The Beatles". The studio setting is arranged as a theater in the round, echong the seating arrangement of the Globe. The opening act is a humorous rendition of a scene from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
, with Paul
as Pyramus and John
as his lover Thisbe.
. A video segment from the special appears in the The Beatles Anthology documentary film. Songs from the special appear on the Anthology 1
compilation.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, produced by Jack Good
Jack Good (producer)
Jack Good is a pioneering former TV television producer, musical theatre producer, record producer, musician and painter of icons.-Career:...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
/Rediffusion London
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
. It was broadcast internationally, and aired live from IBC Studios
IBC Studios
The IBC Recording Studios were recording studios in 35 Portland Place, London, England. After the Second World War it was the address of the leading independent studio in London and the British Isles...
in London 19 April 1964. The show featured other performers as well, with The Beatles providing backing vocals for some of them.
Performances
The show opens on an image of the Globe TheatreGlobe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
, with Ringo
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
unfurling a flag with the legend "Around The Beatles". The studio setting is arranged as a theater in the round, echong the seating arrangement of the Globe. The opening act is a humorous rendition of a scene from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, with Paul
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
as Pyramus and John
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
as his lover Thisbe.
The Beatles
- "I Wanna Be Your ManI Wanna Be Your Man"I Wanna Be Your Man" is a Lennon–McCartney-penned song that was recorded separately by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones' version was released a few weeks earlier...
" - "Long Tall SallyLong Tall Sally"Long Tall Sally" is a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman , recorded by Little Richard and released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label....
" - "Boys"
- "Shout"
- "Roll Over BeethovenRoll Over Beethoven"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit single by Chuck Berry originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classical music...
"
Other acts
- Long John BaldryLong John BaldryJohn William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
, "Got My Mojo WorkingGot My Mojo Working"Got My Mojo Working" is a 1956 song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by Ann Cole, but popularized by Muddy Waters in 1957. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #359 and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of...
" (with The Beatles as backup singers offstage) - P.J. Proby with The Vernons GirlsThe Vernons GirlsThe Vernons Girls were an English musical ensemble of female vocalists. They were formed at the Vernons football pools company in the 1950s in Liverpool, settling down to a sixteen strong choir and recorded an album of standards.-Career:...
, "Cumberland GapCumberland Gap (folk song)"Cumberland Gap" is an Appalachian folk song that likely dates to the latter half of the 19th century and was first recorded in 1924. The song is typically played on banjo or fiddle, and well-known versions of the song include instrumental versions as well as versions with lyrics...
" - Cilla BlackCilla BlackCilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
- Sounds IncorporatedSounds IncorporatedSounds Incorporated, later known as Sounds Inc., were a British instrumental pop group who recorded extensively in the 1960s.-Career:The group formed in 1961, in Dartford, Kent, and gained a local reputation in nearby South London for the fullness of their saxophone-led instrumental sound...
- MillieMillie (singer)Millie is a Jamaican singer-songwriter, often known as "Little Millie Small", and in the United States as "Millie Small", and is best known as the singer of the 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop".-Career:...
, "My Boy LollipopMy Boy Lollipop"My Boy Lollipop" is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in New York in 1956 by Barbie Gaye...
"
Production
- Harry Robinson - Musical Associate
- Brian EpsteinBrian EpsteinBrian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
- Production Associate - Roy Stannard - Designer
- Rita Gillespie - Director
- Jack GoodJack Good (producer)Jack Good is a pioneering former TV television producer, musical theatre producer, record producer, musician and painter of icons.-Career:...
- Producer
Legacy
The special was released as a bootleg video by Media Home EntertainmentMedia Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band....
. A video segment from the special appears in the The Beatles Anthology documentary film. Songs from the special appear on the Anthology 1
Anthology 1
Anthology 1 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released by Apple Records in November 1995. It was released as the first part of the Anthology trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird",...
compilation.